Moderator Note: Section rules are currently under revision. Thank you for your patience!

Welcome to The Man Behind the Wardrobe! As you may already know, C. S. Lewis was a devout Christian who wove elements of his faith throughout his work. This is where NarniaWebbers gather for civil, interactive, and substantive discussion about C.S. Lewis, his works, and his faith. To help you and everyone else enjoy this section, please read and follow the forum rules as well as these guidelines:

1.) Make sure to stay gracious and civil. Be respectful of others and their views, and refrain from name-calling or abusive arguing. A spirited debate is enjoyable, but please keep it friendly and in the spirit of grace.

2.) Literary discussions are highly encouraged--not only about Lewis' work, but about works that may have influenced him, or that he may have influenced. However, please refrain from asking questions (such as "Did Lewis' writing influence JK Rowling?") without providing a supporting thesis or argument ("I believe it did because of [reasons]"). To aid in these discussions, please try to always post with substance.

3.) Theological discussions are allowed within this forum. However, the purpose of this forum is to discuss Lewis, not to debate finer points of doctrine. Diversions into general doctrine are acceptable within specific discussions. However, threads that the moderators deem are no longer discussing Lewis related topics may be nudged back on topic or closed (per moderator discretion). Any general theological discussions may take place in the appropriate thread in the Spare Oom section of the forum.

4.) Keep in mind that none of the Chronicles is an “allegory,” a story in which a thing or a person (such as Giant Despair in Pilgrim’s Progress) directly stands for something else. The Chronicles do contain elements that remind us of the Christian Bible, but they do not always exactly mirror it or how God works in the real world. We want to encourage discussions to delve deeper than questions of “does the White Witch equal Satan” or “Peter is exactly like King David.” Lewis himself says,

Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument; then collected information about child-psychology and decided what age-group I’d write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out “allegories” to embody them. This is all pure moonshine. I couldn’t write in that way at all. Everything began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn’t even anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord. It was part of the bubbling.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the moderators. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.